Menstrual cup



1950 L. w. CHALMERS 2,534,900

MENSTRUAL CUP Filed Jan. 4, 1950 a 5 INVENTOR LEONA w. CHALMERS BY HERATTORNEYS Patented Dec. 19, 1950 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE MENSTRUALCUP Leona W. Chalmers, New York, N. Y.

Application January 4, 1950, Serial No. 136,797

9 Claims. 1

This invention relates to a menstrual cup and more particularly to aflexible menstrual cup. Menstrual cups adapted for placement in thevaginal canal have been known heretofore but have been uncomfortable towear and have tended to get out of position. When one of these cups getsout of position, seepage is likely to occur, with resulting mental andphysical discomfort and spoiling of garments. It has been knownheretofore to make such a cup of light enough rubber to enable it to becollapsed and folded while being inserted in position. Heretofore atapered cup has been used, but such tapered cup is inherently unable tomaintain its proper position in the vaginal canal for any length oftime. I have discovered a construction of menstrual cup which remains inthe correct position and, at the same time, is made of such light,pliable rubber that it is capable of being folded for the purpose ofinsertion and is not uncomfortable while in position. It ischaracteristic of my cup that the pliable, non-resilient material ofwhich it is made is strengthened by resilient or less pliable elementswhich tend to return the cup to its expanded position. It is alsocharacterized by the presence of a strengthening element which also hasthe function of holding the tapered cu in position as if it were acylinder rather than a tapered cup.

In the drawings:

Figure 1 is a view in rear elevation of a menstrual cup constructed inaccordance with my invention;

Figure 2 is a side elevation of the same cup, partly broken away to showthe back of the cup in section;

Figure 3 is a diagram taken vertically through a female pelvis fromfront to rear, showing my cup in position in the vaginal canal; whileFigure 4 is an illustration of my cup folded and held in the fingersready for insertion in the canal.

My menstrual cup is designed as a simple, inexpensive catch-basin formenstrual waste and is designed to be self-supporting. It is built to beworn in a position different from pessaries and like therapeuticdevices. My cup is worn in an intermediate position in the vaginalcanal, wholly out of contact with the uterus.

My menstrual cup can be folded, as shown in Fig. 4. This folding occursabout or parallel to the normal longitudinal axis of the cup in order toreduce its lateral dimension for insertion in the vagina. The cup,generally speaking, is substantially acorn shaped, a form which issusceptible of being folded easily. The basic material of the cup ispreferably non-resilient but pliable, and I therefore prefer to make thecup of thin rubber or similar moisture-impervious material. By makingthe basic material non-resilient, the cup yields to any temporary changein shape of the vaginal canal. On the other hand, it is necessary thatthe cup be returned to its full expanded position or shape as soon asbody conditions permit, and therefore resilient means must be providedto supplement the pliant rubber.

Around the upper or open end of the cup are two annular strengtheningribs 2, 3 spaced from each other vertically on the outside of the cup.The upper rib 2 is exactly at the top of the cup and the lower one 3 isspaced a little distance below. The upper rib is somewhat larger thanthe lower rib. One function of these ribs is to provide resiliencetending to expand the upper end of the cup to its open position or tomaintain it in that position. In the space between the two ribs, Iprovide cross-connected lines or ridges forming enclosed recesses ordepressions 4 which act as suction cups when pressed into the membranelining of the vaginal canal 5. It will be seen from Fig. 2 of thedrawings that the ribs are rounded so as not to cut the membrane of thecanal. The band formed by the ribs and the suction cups between themform a hollowed-out or concave fillet around the upper edge of the cup.

Extending around the inside of the cup in a spiral manner beginning justbelow a point opposite the lower annular rib is a rib 6 of resilientmaterial. This extends downwardly to the base of the cup. This spiralrib, acting in connection with the annular ribs and the base I, alsoassists in returning the cup to its expanded condition after it has beenfolded for insertion or partially collapsed due to muscular contractionof the vaginal canal. The base I of the cup is much less in diameterthan the rest of the cup and comprises merely the lower end where thediameter begins to contract sharply to close the cup. This base is madeof thicker or less pliable material than the rest of the walls andtherefore resists folding or collapse. It assists the thinner walls inmaintaining themselves in expanded position.

On the bottom. of the cup is a flattened tab 8' extending downwardly ashort distance and having an opening therein in which a short length ofstring 9 can be placed, if desired. This tab can have ribs l@ or otherroughening on its surface for ease in grasping it when the cup is to beremoved.

One of the novel features of my cup is the comparatively straight backII that can be seen in Fig. 2. This back extends directly downsubstantially to the bottom of the cup without ta pering inwardly, ascan be seen by comparison of the two edges of the cup, as shown inFig. 1. If desired, this back can have considerable breadth, asindicated by the diverging lines [2 in Fig. 1. The function of thiscomparatively straight back will be described in connection with theplacement of the cup in the vaginal canal. This back has appreciablethickness compared to the rest of the cups walls and provides aframework or backbone connecting the base with the fillet at the top ofthe cup. When in position in the vaginal canal, the back ll prevents thedifferent parts of the cup being twisted or folded with relation to eachother, because of the pliability of the rest of the cup.

I introduce another novel feature in this back in the form of an airvent [3. This air vent consists of a small straight opening runningstraight down the back from the top of the upper or larger rib 2 throughthe bottom of the back. At both ends this air vent is a short distanceforward from the outer surface of the back. One purpose of the vent isto release gases which sometimes form in the vaginal passage due tocertain pathological conditions, especially that known as trichomonasand the pressure from which might cause the menstrual cup to be forcedout of position and result in seepage. Having the air passage or ventlocated in this particular position makes it possible not only to allowfree passage of the gas from inside the vaginal passage to the outerair, thus equalizing the pressures, but it also facilitates removal ofthe cup. It will also be noted that having the air vent in the backeliminates all extra parts which might cause damaging contact with anypart of the anatomy. The lower end of this back wall may be described asa bulge 3 when compared to the front edge, as shown in Fig. 2. There mayalso be small air holes around the cup just below the fillet.

The construction of this cup having been set forth, the manner of itsplacement and use will now be described. At the inner end of the vaginalcanal is located the mouth of the uterus. To insert the cup it is givensome longitudinal folds and held in its collapsed position by thefingers, as shown in Fig. 4. It is then placed in position in thevaginal canal with the upper and open end of the cup a short distancebelow but out of contact with the uterus. It is important that the lineor" the upper end of the cup be substantially at right angles to thewalls of the vaginal passage in order to prevent seepage. I have foundthat even if the ordinary tapered menstrual cup is placed in the vaginalpassage with the top of the cup absolutely at right angles to the wallsof the passage, that cup sooner or later tends to get out of positionand tips slightly so that there tends to be seepage around one edge ofthe upper end of the cup. This tipping may be due either to gravity,because the vaginal passage is not vertical, or to the muscular actionof the walls of the vaginal passage, due to pressure of neighboringorgans. A regularly tapered cup cannot maintain itself at the correctangle. I have therefore extended the back in the form of theaforementioned bulge. When this back wall of the cup is placed on theback Wall of the Vaginal passage, i. e., on the side toward the rectumand backbone of the wearer, the cup will be maintained with its lowerend tipped forward.

In this way the center line of the cup and of the vaginal passage willbe substantially parallel and the upper end of the cup and the ribs ofthe fillet will be substantially at right angles to the walls of thepassage. The annular ribs press into the membranes of the walls andcause the mem-- branes to be pressed into the suction cups. This createsa vacuum-tight hold on the walls.

When it is desired to remove the cup, this vacuum hold can be broken bymoving the tab to the rear. This tilting lets air in between themembrane and the suction cups on one side. Also, it allows air to passup into the tiny holes l5 below the fillet and the air tube 13 to thespace above the cup, thereby helping to break any vacuum which may existthere. When the vacuum has been broken, the menstrual cup should beremoved slowly with a downward rotary motion, by turning the tab end andat the same time pulling gently.

It will be seen that this construction of cup serves to provide aleakage-proof hold in the vagina. canal without introducing any strainson the vaginal canal in the removal of the cup; that the device cannotget out of position; and

while it has the advantages of a collapsibie receptacle as far asconcerns insertion and ort to the wearer, it remains in expanded onwhile in use, thereby also obtaining the advantages of a non-collapsiblereceptacle.

I claim:

1. A menstrual cup adapted for placement in the vaginal canal,comprising a tapered cup having relatively thick Jack pliable walls, incombination with a bulge forming a straight extension of the back downto a point opposite the bottom of the cup, whereby the cup maintains astraight position in the canal.

2. A menstrual cup according to claim 1 in which the walls of the cupare substantially nonresilient and there is a resilient spiral ribinside the cup tending to keep the cup expanded, whereby the cup iseasily folded for insertion in the canal.

3. A menstrual cup according to claim 2, in combination with a base ofless pliable material than the walls and of lesser diameter than theportions of the cup above said base, said base being integrallyconnected to the back, whereby the cup easily resumes its normal shapeafter folding.

4. A menstrual cup according to claim 1 in which there is an air tube inthe back connecting the top edge of the cup and the bottom of the bulge,whereby air pressure in the canal above and below the cup is equalized.

5. A menstrual cup according to claim 1 in which there is a pair ofresilient external annular ribs at the upper end of the cup spaced fromeach other, in combination with a plurality of depressions in the spacebetween the annular ribs adapted to form suction cups, whereby the cupis adapted to be firmly held in the vaginal canal.

6. A menstrual cup according to claim 5 in which one annular rib is atthe end of the cup and is larger than the other one, both the ribs beingrounded and the surface between them being concave, whereby removal ofthe cup is facilitated.

7. A menstrual cup according to claim 1 in which there are a resilientspiral rib inside the cup tending to keep it expanded, a base of lesspliable material and of lesser diameter than the Walls, said base beingintegrally connected to 9. A menstrual cup according to claim 8 in whichone annular rib is at the end of the cup and is larger than the otherone, both the ribs being rounded and the surface between them beingconcave, whereby removal of the cup is facilitated.

LEONA W. CHALMERS.

No references cited.

